GNR: FCKN AWSM!

Axl Rose, 1990Photo by Michael Putland / Retna

The latest MP3s to hit the blogs.

1. Guns N’ Roses, “Chinese Democracy”
The leaked title track from GNR’s oft-delayed album certainly sounds like something years in the making: It has Appetite for Destruction–era guitars, a nu-metal-y chorus that could have been written in 1997, and haggard Axl vocals circa 2002. [Idolator]

2. Amerie, “Make Me Believe”
We wish Amerie’s record company would make us believe that her excellent, just-leaked, new album is actually going to come out in America. A release date would be nice. [Idolator]

3. Ben Gibbard, “Casino Blues” (live)
The Death Cab for Cutie leader lists all the things he hates about Las Vegas. (He forgets Celine Dion.) [Hard to Find a Friend]

4. Leonard Cohen, “Famous Blue Raincoat”
This remastered track from Cohen’s recently reissued Songs of Love and Hate sounds noticeably better than the version previously available. The vocals are still a little flat, though. [Moistworks]

5. Ben Kweller, “God Only Knows” (Beach Boys cover)
Kweller tackles one of Brian Wilson’s best songs and gets most of the chords right. [Twelve Major Chords] —Lane Brown